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New Alpine Backup Camera & 3rd Brake Light

15K views 65 replies 8 participants last post by  Wild Weasel 
#1 ·
One of the first mods I did on my Jeep was a backup camera. My truck came with the Alpine system and the 730N. The first incarnation of backup camera was using a cheapo Amazon camera and a LockPic so I didn't need to have the radio flashed at the dealer. That work fine until I put on 35s and added new bumpers and a body mounted tire carrier. Then camera position and 3rd tail light became a problem. I sort of solved the 3rd brake light issue by mounting a large red truck tail light behind my spare. That resulted in the spare glowing red but probably not as legal as it needed to be. I ended up mounting the camera on the bottom of my hitch. As time went on I got rid of the 730 and the lockpic and put in a Pioneer 8100. That made a big difference in not only the sound but it's a higher res screen so that cheapo Amazon camera didn't look so good, plus mounted below the hitch was not a great spot for the camera. I looked into the idea of a spare tire mounting bracket but the studs on my tire carrier are not like the stock carrier, those after market brackets won't fit so that was not an option. I have been kicking around the idea of getting the new Alpine x209, as much as I would love to have it, I just can't justify the cost, but while looking at the x209 I saw that Alpine had brought out this new backup camera 3rd brake light combo so I thought I'd give it a try.

Pretty easy install even if you don't have an Alpine Restyle system. There's 3 ways to do it, but the first 2 require a Restyle system. I've got a Maestro idata-link box connected to the Pioneer and I was hoping I could use the 2nd method using the supplied T harness from the Maestro to tap into the system without splicing cables but that didn't work. So I was back to install method #3 which has you run the provided cable from the outside of the Jeep via the tailgate up to the passenger side kick panel. Once there you need to find the cable harness and tap into 5 wires. Then all you have to do is extend just the video cable from the kick panel to the radio location.

The camera mount and the unit itself is more substantial than I thought it would be. You are provided with a Y shaped mounting plate that sits on the spare tire studs. There are 3 different length tubes that connect to that mounting plate and you pick the best length for the back spacing of your wheels. I used the shortest one as I wanted a tight fit against the wheel. I've got a Crawler Conceptz tire mount and to get the Alpine mounting plate to fit I had to cut off the license plate relocation bracket and drill a hole in the stud plate to pass the wire. I also put some 3M tape on the back of the Alpine mounting plate to keep it from coming off and dangling by the wire if I take the spare off the mount.

Everything worked first time out. Brake light, led light for the camera, and the camera itself. The camera is great, head and shoulders above the cheapo Amazon cameras I've been using. The unit looks great on the back of the truck, I know folks have been balking at the cost, I found a great deal on Amazon for it, but if you look at the options out there, there's really not one with the fit and finish of this one. If I do have 1 beef with it, it would be I'm seeing more of the lip of my wheel than I'd like to. I could use one of the longer tubes, to get past the lip, but I wanted it to fit tight against the wheel so I'll learn to live with it. Please pardon the crappy cell phone pictures!













 
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#3 ·
@billybobjku, I had one one of these Alpine cameras installed along with my 8200NEX. It's an excellent piece of hardware and I've been nothing but impressed with how it has been working. It was well worth the cost and one of the best investments/mods I've made to my JKU. Nice rig, btw!!
 
#5 ·
I put on Crawler Conceptz body mounted tire carrier so all the stock parts including the stock 3rd brake light get taken off and are replaced by the Crawler parts. At the time I bought the tire carrier it didn't come with a 3rd brake light. They've got a way to do it using an after market light on their license plate relocation bracket. I probably could have cut off the stock 3rd brake light and figured out a way to get it on the Crawler bracket but I didn't go that route. That's what made the Alpine unit attractive, everything was built right in.
 
#9 ·
Camera is awesome!!

I got my back-up camera up & running on my new Recon!

I had the guys at HotRides in Ewing, NJ do the install for me --definitely recommend them for any work to any car!

The biggest surprise: you can turn the camera on at anytime, not just when it's in reverse. I know that's a selling point with some other cameras, but didn't think it was possible with the Alpine camera + 430N head unit.

You just hold down the left media selector button (in the middle of the rear of the steering wheel) and the camera comes on the display ...while not interfering with the audio being played. So I was listening to tunes while making passing glances at the cars behind/around me while I left the shop. To go back to the display (navigation or radio or whatever), you just click the button again.

The camera provides a clear, wide view of everything behind the Jeep. I have the stock 32" Recon tire on mine and I don't see any part of the tire in the camera view. (I do see the shadow of the Jeep when the sun is in front of/above me, though.)

The dash display isn't exactly a HD screen, but it's good enough to get a very clear view of what's going on behind your Jeep.

I have noticed the camera dropping in price a bit on Amazon.com and other online/offline realtors. Wondering if Alpine is getting ready to dump them now that the new '18 has a rear camera.

As far as the factory 3rd light, I did have HotRides remove it. They sawed it off near the base of the tire carrier. Because this unit integrates so well with the spare and the head unit, it will always be with the Jeep.
 

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#10 ·
The biggest surprise: you can turn the camera on at anytime, not just when it's in reverse. I know that's a selling point with some other cameras, but didn't think it was possible with the Alpine camera + 430N head unit.

You just hold down the left media selector button (in the middle of the rear of the steering wheel) and the camera comes on the display ...while not interfering with the audio being played. So I was listening to tunes while making passing glances at the cars behind/around me while I left the shop. To go back to the display (navigation or radio or whatever), you just click the button again.
This isn't a feature of the camera or the radio. It is a feature of the interface the shop used to add the camera to the radio and vehicle.

Install looks great. :beerdrinking:
 
#18 ·
Hey... do you have some idea of how the housing is held together and whether it could be easily taken apart? I'm wondering if that silver trim could be removed and then painted either black or to match the colour of the Jeep. :)

Also, did you need this thing for the 430N?

Alpine
It's a metal housing. I believe it is held together with 4 security torx screws. You'll need a security bit (not sure what size) that has a hole in the center.

Yes, you will need some type of camera interface for the 430N. The one you posted will work as will others.
 
#30 ·
Ok... have my camera now. I kinda expected it to come with a lug nut that I'd use on the wheel to replace the lock and then use my lock on the camera.

Nope.

It comes with a little nut I wouldn't put on a wheel... and my wheel lock definitely won't fit on the camera behind the little rubber cover.

So what did you guys do? Where did you get a lock nut small enough to fit in there?
 
#34 ·
Pretty easy install even if you don't have an Alpine Restyle system. There's 3 ways to do it, but the first 2 require a Restyle system. I've got a Maestro idata-link box connected to the Pioneer and I was hoping I could use the 2nd method using the supplied T harness from the Maestro to tap into the system without splicing cables but that didn't work. So I was back to install method #3 which has you run the provided cable from the outside of the Jeep via the tailgate up to the passenger side kick panel. Once there you need to find the cable harness and tap into 5 wires. Then all you have to do is extend just the video cable from the kick panel to the radio location.


Can you provide anymore detail on what is involved in tapping into the wires on the passengers side? I have everything wired in but that. I don't know anything about splicing so I am curious how it's done in this case. Thanks.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#37 ·
If you don't know how to solder, the quick/easy way to tap into the wiring is to use a quick splice tap commonly referred to as t-taps or vampire taps.

Match up the colors for connection type C on the last page in this.

CONNECTOR WIRE--->VEHICLE WIRE
BLACK--->BLACK
YELLOW/BLACK--->WHITE/BLACK
RED--->RED
ORANGE/WHITE--->WHITE/GRAY
ORANGE--->WHITE/PURPLE
 
#59 ·
Finished the installation yesterday. Now I just need to book an appointment to have the display enabled. The light comes on when I go into reverse and the brake light works. I'm assuming that means I found the right wires and all is well.

The wiring was a bit of a nightmare, mostly due to my own stupidity and poor vision. :) All's well that ends well though.

When I cut the plug off the harness, I completely misinterpreted which bit I was keeping and which I was tossing. I figured those other connectors might get used for something in the future and that one of them fit the camera so I cut the wires near the plug and chucked the plug out.

Once I'd finished all the splicing and soldering and went to figure out which of the connectors the camera hooked into I realized the idiocy of my mistake.

I had to fish the plug out of the trash and then get all the existing bits of wire out of it and then scavenge another connector on the harness for wire ends with similar connectors and then attach those to the wires I'd soldered into the Jeep.

So if anyone else is doing this... cut the wires near the root of the bundle of tape... not near the damned plug. You're keeping the plug... not the rest of the connectors. :)

Also... maroon looks a lot like brown when fumbling around in the dark under the dash. :(
 
#61 ·
Thanks man!

For now I've got my Mopar one on there (which is made by McGard but obviously nothing like the ones they sell under their own name) which keeps things save but doesn't even remotely allow the rubber cover to go on.

I'll replace it eventually. I want a set of black lugs from either McGard or Gorilla. :)
 
#62 ·
I'm happy to say I got my camera enabled by a dealer and everything is peachy keen!!

I noticed that the 430N has an option to "delay camera" on it and, so far as I can tell, that will keep the camera display on for a moment after you've shifted out of reverse. My other car does that as well.

Thing is... the way this camera is wired, it loses power as soon as you come out of reverse.

Has anyone got the slightest idea whether there's a wire that remains powered briefly after leaving reverse but then turns off? :)

It won't do to keep it powered all the time since you'd also have the white light lit up on the back there.
 
#63 ·
As far as I know there's no wire that does that. Though someone with more electrical knowledge than I may know how to wire up a capacitor.
 
#66 ·
If your tire carrier swings away from the tailgate, the only thing I can think of would be to run it to the tire carrier hinge and then along the carrier, just as you'd normally run it through the hinge end of the tail gate and along the tailgate to the middle.

Interesting problem. When I upgrade my tire carrier I expect I'll need to deal with this as well, but it doesn't sound like too big a deal.
 
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